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Committee adopts technical amendment and hears sponsor for athletic trainer compact bill
Summary
The Senate Health Committee adopted Amendment 1659 to Senate Bill 320 to shorten board selection windows and align terminology, then heard sponsor testimony arguing the compact would streamline interstate practice for athletic trainers while preserving Ohio's licensure authority.
The Senate Health Committee amended and then heard testimony on Senate Bill 320, legislation to join Ohio to the interstate athletic trainer compact.
Committee members first considered Amendment 1659, which a senator described as correcting Legislative Service Commission drafting errors, shortening two 90‑day selection/filling windows to 60 days for the Athletic Trainers section of the Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board, and replacing references to "Delegate" with "Commissioner" for consistency. The amendment was ordered and, after no objection from members, was adopted by the committee.
Sponsor testimony argued SB 320 would allow athletic trainers who hold an unencumbered license in a member state and meet uniform eligibility requirements to obtain a compact privilege to practice in other member states without creating a national license. The sponsor told the committee the compact would maintain Ohio's authority over licensure, discipline and scope of practice while improving real‑time information sharing about licensure status and disciplinary actions. The sponsor also framed the compact as a workforce tool to ease mobility for practitioners who travel with teams, practice via telehealth, or relocate for family or military reasons.
The sponsor noted that several other states had filed similar compact legislation and that Ohio's participation would not be effective until the compact itself became effective among member states. No committee vote on the underlying bill was recorded during this hearing; the committee adopted the technical amendment and received sponsor testimony for consideration at future work.
The committee then proceeded to other agenda items.
